Monday, November 7, 2016

Italy: 17th century artwork stolen from quake-damaged church

MILAN (AP) — Italian authorities are
investigating the theft of a 17th-century painting from an
earthquake-damaged church, one of the first suspected victims of looting
from last month's quakes that have sent officials racing to recover
priceless artworks before thieves and the elements get to them.

The
national police unit charged with protecting cultural treasures said
Monday that the 1631 painting "Pardon in Assisi" by French painter Jean
Lhomme was stolen from a village church in Nottoria. The work was
well-known among historians.

The
parish priest, the Rev. Marco Rufini, told news agency ANSA that the
thieves apparently ignored the risk of the church collapsing on them
when they cut the painting from its frame, "adding injury to injury."

The
earthquakes on Oct. 26 and Oct. 30 collapsed buildings across a broad
swath of a region already reeling from a deadly August quake. One of the
iconic images of the devastation is the basilica of St. Benedict of
Norcia, built over the birthplace of the patron saint of Europe, where
only the facade remains standing.

While
the main priorities have been tending to the estimated 30,000 people
left homeless, authorities have also begun recovering artworks from the
more than 182 quake-damaged or destroyed churches in the area, said the
archbishop of Norcia and Spoleto, Monsignor Renato Boccardo.

"These towns have been abandoned, with their churches destroyed, so the risk of theft is very high," he said.

In addition, a powerful
storm Sunday night threatened even more damage to artworks exposed to
the elements. The mayor of quake-hit Visso, for example, flagged that
important frescoes of the Madonna were at risk from the rain and
required a helicopter to come in and extract them.

The
army has moved in anti-looting units to the region, but Boccardo noted
that cities like Norcia and nearby Cascia have around 40 tiny hamlets
apiece, sparsely spread across mountains. "Whoever wants to go into a
home or church can go easily," he said.

While
stressing that his primary concern was providing for his flock, he said
the damage to the churches had added to their trauma.

"The
history of this area is expressed in its churches, the witnesses of
art, history and faith," he told reporters in Rome. For the people of
the region, he said, the quake represented a "double loss" of both their
homes and their churches.

"All
the life of these little hamlets and towns is linked to the churches —
the history and development of the towns all took place around them."
http://siouxcityjournal.com/entertainment/italy-th-century-artwork-stolen-from-quake-damaged-church/article_e773a8a9-3b4c-5c45-9cc0-8e0627c87f2b.html